1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor laser diode apparatus and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, it relates to a semiconductor laser diode apparatus comprising a semiconductor laser diode element fixed on a base and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
A semiconductor laser diode apparatus comprising a semiconductor laser diode element fixed on a base or the like is known in general, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open Nos. 2006-41085 and 2003-31895, for example.
The aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-41085 discloses a semiconductor laser diode apparatus comprising a semiconductor laser chip (semiconductor laser diode element) and a submount (base) on which the semiconductor laser chip is fixed. In the semiconductor laser diode apparatus, the semiconductor laser chip is constituted by a substrate and a semiconductor layer formed on the substrate.
The aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-31895 discloses a semiconductor light-emitting apparatus comprising a semiconductor light-emitting device chip (semiconductor laser diode element) having warping and a mount member (base) on which the semiconductor light-emitting device chip is fixed and a method of fabricating the same. The mount member with a surface formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the warping of the semiconductor light-emitting device chip is employed in this semiconductor light-emitting apparatus. Thus, the semiconductor light-emitting device chip is fixed on the mount member in a state of warping in a prescribed direction.
In the conventional semiconductor laser diode apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-41085, however, the semiconductor laser chip is constituted by the substrate and the semiconductor layer formed on the substrate, and hence warping disadvantageously possibly occurs on the semiconductor laser chip due to difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the substrate and the semiconductor layer and difference in lattice constant between the substrate and the semiconductor layer. In this cases the semiconductor laser chip generally has an elongated shape along a direction in which a cavity extends, and hence the amount of warping is increased along the direction in which the cavity of the semiconductor laser chip extends. Therefore, the warping amount along the direction in which the cavity of the semiconductor laser chip extends is likely to vary, and hence the distance between the semiconductor laser chip on the light-emitting end of the cavity of the semiconductor laser chip and the submount is likely to vary in a case where the convex side of the warping of the semiconductor laser chip is fixed on the submount. Thus, an emission position of a laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end of the cavity of the semiconductor laser chip is disadvantageously likely to vary. In the case where the convex side of the warping of the semiconductor laser chip is fixed on the submount, the semiconductor laser chip is generally arranged on the submount in a state where the emission direction of the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser chip is inclined upward with respect to a surface of the submount and hence the emission direction of the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser chip (semiconductor laser diode element) disadvantageously varies due to variation in the warping amount along the direction in which the cavity of the semiconductor laser chip extends
In the conventional semiconductor light-emitting apparatus and method of fabricating the same disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No 2003-31895, the semiconductor light-emitting device chip is fixed on the mount member formed in a curved surface shape or a prescribed shape (concave shape) corresponding to the shape of the warping of the semiconductor light-emitting device chip, and hence variation in the warping shape (warping amount) of the semiconductor light-emitting device chip and the shape of the mount member may not be conceivably properly correspond to each other. In this case, the distance between the semiconductor light-emitting device chip and the mount member on the light-emitting end of the cavity is likely to vary. Therefore, the emission position of the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end of the cavity of the semiconductor light-emitting device chip is disadvantageously likely to vary.